


Duet

by youreyestheyglow



Series: Adult Septet: The Boys Are Back In Town [2]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Angstfest, Ging/Kite is current/endgame, Kite/Chrollo is past tense, M/M, Not Cheating, Tastefully written porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 16:09:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18876607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youreyestheyglow/pseuds/youreyestheyglow
Summary: Kite and Chrollo used to be lovers. Ging finds out--and sends Kite on a trip to memory lane.





	Duet

**Author's Note:**

> Makes mildly more sense if you read the preceding crack fic, but could also technically stand alone.

“Kite?”

Something in his tone instantly catches my attention. He hasn’t sounded that unsure since I was reborn as the redheaded child of a chimera ant. “Yeah?”

“Chrollo. Yesterday, he said he knew you.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah. He said the two of you used to fuck.”

Here I’d been hoping Chrollo would be able to keep his mouth shut, or Ging would’ve been too drunk to remember, but – ah, well. “We did.”

There’s silence from behind me.

I twist in my chair.

He’s not even pretending to pour himself coffee. He’s just standing there.

“Ging?”

“What?”

“Ging, I’m here with you, now. I made my choice. It’s been you, time and again. And I’m not 

leaving.”

“All right.”

I get up and go to him, wrapping my arms around his waist and nuzzling his throat. This body is shorter than the old one, nearly the same height as Ging. It makes life a little easier. “We were both alone and free. It made the nights go faster. I didn’t feel a thing for him, and then I found you, and left him. I haven’t seen him since. I haven’t even gone looking for him, and you of all people know that if I wanted to find him, I could. But I don’t, and I haven’t even tried looking. And he hasn’t come looking for me, either. And if he did, I’d tell him to fuck off. I’m yours.”

I feel it when he takes a deep breath, and I know he’s feeling better when he starts pouring coffee.

“I trust you.”

I kiss his cheek. “As you should. And I’ve gotta go. See you tonight!” I grab my coat and head out.

My body might have changed, but my work remains the same. Ging and I found a place halfway between a new archeological site that interests Ging and the ocean, which has been the site of some particularly interesting new species discoveries. It’s perfect. Gon even has his own room; he’ll come live with us for a month, and then one morning he’s gone, off with Killua and Alluka and whoever else they’ve picked up on the way. I love my life, my work, my fiancé, my sort-of-son.

And I can’t concentrate on any of it.

All I can think of is Chrollo.

It’s been years.  _ Years _ . Decades. And here he is. A little while back, Hisoka somehow got him into this thing Ging’s been doing – he and Pariston Hill and Illumi Zoldyck and Hisoka all somehow created a truce between them, as they got older. Pariston has gone farther underground, to the point where no one really knows what he’s doing. Hisoka beat Gon into the ground once, which made Gon stronger, so of course, Ging’s a fan. And Hisoka and Illumi are a package deal, so leaving Illumi out was unthinkable. I don’t take part in their parties – I can’t stand any of them – but Ging sends me texts and pictures the entire time, so I got a picture of the exact moment when Chrollo Lucilfer stepped back into my life.

I’d hoped, prayed, that whoever the hell was up in the sky would keep Chrollo’s mouth shut, keep Ging blacked out,  _ something _ . But I got a text from Chrollo –  _ hey, met your guy, he’s a little interesting – _ and a text from Ging –  _ met some guy who says he knows u lmao his last names lucifer fuckin weird – _ and I remembered more than I realized I could remember, in this body. I shoved it back to wherever it came from and ignored it, but now –

I met him in a bar.

* * *

 

_ “Cold out, huh?” _

_ I glanced up at the man who was sitting down next to me, entirely disregarding the fact that I was clearly involved in something important. “Mm.” _

_ “What’re you drinking?” _

_ “Mm.” _

_ He laughed and spun the beer bottle so that he could see the label. He ordered me another one. _

_ I almost wished that he’d put more effort into getting my attention. I wished I’d been more involved in the map I was looking at, covered in grids and symbols and words, marking down every place I’d ruled out as Ging’s hiding spot and every place I had yet to check out and every place I had reason to visit. But that was all it took. One drink, and I was rolling up my map, sticking it in my bag, and turning my attention to him, the man with the white band around his forehead, the man who somehow took my attention away from the search that had consumed me for two years, the man with the violet eyes. _

_ He was funny, and handsome, and he didn’t ask me questions about my hunt once I made it clear I wouldn’t answer them. I didn’t trust him. I didn’t know him. I couldn’t place him. I went home with him. _

* * *

“Kite? Helloooo, Kite?”

“Hmm?” I jerk back to the present. Podungo is waving something in my face. “The hell is that?”

“Wow, you’re really out of it today, aren’t you? It’s a foot. An unknown foot. Hopefully, not a dangerous foot. Where do you want it?”

“The unknown pile.”

“We don’t have one of those.”

“Stick it in the truck, I’ll look at it later.”

“Do you wanna just go home? You’re not much use today. Are you sick?”

“No, and no. I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so.”

As soon as she turns away from me, my thoughts fly back to that first night with Chrollo.

* * *

_ He had the penthouse. It was clean and empty, spotless and impersonal. He treated me like a guest, asking me politely to take off my shoes in the hallway, and telling me that it was my choice whether or not I took my bag into the room with me or left it in the hallway, but – _

_ “I’m a thief. It’s my profession. I’d love to say that as my guest, you’re safe, but I’m afraid I can’t make any promises.” _

_ I brought my bag into the room with me. _

_ He stripped first. Off went his loose white shirt, off went his black pants, off went his underwear, until he was standing there with a white band around his head and a white band around his arm, violet eyes boring into mine. He didn’t say a word. I felt no pressure emanating from him, no intentions whatsoever. _

_ “I can undress you, if you’d like.” _

_ “I’m not a child.” _

_ “I wasn’t implying that you are. Some people find it more pleasurable to have a lover take their clothes off for them.” _

_ “I’m not one of them.” _

_ “That’s fine.” He shrugged at sat down on his bed. “Take your time.” _

_ “I’m a virgin.” _

_ “I know.” _

_ I raised my eyebrows at that. “Is that why you targeted me?” _

_ “Targeted – what a word. I’m not attacking you. And no, it’s not. I didn’t even know until you got here. You’re too confident in yourself to have so little confidence when it comes to sex, unless you’re a virgin.” He shrugged again. “That’s not a problem.” _

_ I undressed myself and went to him. He was beautiful – his muscles were perfect, his face was perfect, his hair was perfect, but I couldn’t stop staring at his eyes, his violet eyes. His hands were roaming over my body, his mouth was forming the words “safety” and “protection” and “beautiful,” and his eyes were locked on mine. He was gentle, and he genuinely cared about whether or not I was feeling good. He took pleasure in making me scream, and it didn’t take him too long to manage that – his mouth was on my neck, his dick in my ass, one hand tangled in my hair, and he was perfect and I’d never done anything like this before. I didn’t last long. _

_ I cleaned myself off and left. _

* * *

 

“Kite, that’s literally just salmon. It doesn’t even have an interesting disease or anything. Please go home.”

“No. And it’s important. Salmon shouldn’t be up here, this time of year.”

“Kite, they’re always up here. You can stop. It’s all right to take a day off. No one will be angry at you.”

“I’ll be angry at myself.”

“Better than staring at a salmon for twenty minutes straight.”

I check my watch.

Shit.

“All right, all right, I’m paying attention again. I’m back on track.”

“Since when do you say  _ back on track _ ?”

“Since I got back on track. I’m fine. I’m fine.”

“You keep repeating stuff, I’m gonna call a doctor and have them check you out.”

“You do that. I’m gonna go look at whatever the hell  _ that _ is.”

“Kite, that’s driftwood.”

“Says who?”

“I – all right. It’ll be good for you to take a walk. Go ahead.”

I head off along the tideline.

I left, but it’s not the end.

* * *

_ I left, but it wasn’t the end. _

_ I returned three weeks later. I was demoralized. I couldn’t find even a hint of Ging. Nothing. It was like he’d left the planet entirely. I was beginning to consider that as an actual possibility. _

_ Why did I go back to that city? I told myself it wasn’t because of him, the man whose name I didn’t even know, but I was lying to myself. I was hoping the city would be too big, too full of people, for him to find me. I was hoping the thief had moved on, was thieving from another city, another person. I went back to the same bar. I was hoping he’d be there. _

_ I was in that bar for twenty minutes before someone sat down next to me. _

_ “I knew I recognized that hair. Any luck with your mission?” _

_ I’d have recognized those violet eyes from a mile away. “None.” _

_ “Wanna come back with me?” _

_ “Yeah.” _

_ I was in his bed within ten minutes, and I was sitting on top of him this time. It was my turn to make him moan. And I did. Every time he arched his back, it was because of me. Every shiver was because of me. Every single noise, big or small, was because of me. _

_ I didn’t leave as soon as we were done, that time. I stayed. He made me coffee. I told him I was looking for someone, someone important to me. _

_ “Someone you love?” _

_ “None of your business.” _

_ “If you say so.” _

_ “He taught me everything I know.” _

_ “Everything?” _

_ His eyes were expressive, and just then they were expressing an intimate knowledge of me that Ging didn’t have. _

_ “Most things.” _

* * *

It’s driftwood. I kick at it a little. Bark falls off in pieces.

I keep walking.

* * *

 

_ Every time I visit him, I stay longer. _

_ The fifth time I go, I top. _

_ “This is my first time,” he warns me. _

_ “How many partners have you had?” _

_ He grimaces. “More than I can count, at this point. I get tested twice a month, though, and I’m clean.” _

_ I shrug. I probably should’ve thought to ask before we even started this, honestly, but it’s good to know that I’m safe. “Same here, in terms of cleanliness.” _

_ I take it slow when I stretch him out, but it’s not long before I’m inside him, not long at all before he’s biting the pillow and arching into the mattress. _

_ And then I stay the night. _

_ He tells me about his group of friends, spread out across the world, all ready to answer the call of any friend at any time. I tell him about my teacher, about his genius, about his kindness.  _

_ About this mission to find him. _

_ I sleep there. _

_ In the morning, I check my bag, unmoved from its position next to the bed. I nearly decapitate Violet before he returns Ging’s license to me. Violet only shrugs. _

_ “I’m a thief. It’s what I do.” _

_ And yet, I go back. _

_ I don’t know why. I don’t love him, I know that much. But he stops stealing my stuff, and eventually, I get comfortable leaving my bag in the hallway. _

_ I go back. _

_ I go back. _

_ I go back, and back, and back again, and then I return once more. _

_ Every time a lead fails me, every time I hit a dead end, I return. I don’t bother going to the bar anymore, after a little while. I just turn up at the penthouse. Once or twice I arrive just as someone else is leaving. On some of these occasions, it’s obvious Violet had just had sex with his guest. On some of them, it’s equally obvious that all clothes remained on at all times. Violet doesn’t introduce any of them to me. Then again, I don’t even know Violet’s name, so why would I get introduced to anyone else? It doesn’t matter. I’m not there for them, anyway. I’m there for Violet, because for some godforsaken reason, his house has become my base of operations. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even hide any of my research from him. _

* * *

 

The work site is just a spot in the distance. Even the driftwood is beginning to fade out of view.

I should turn back.

I keep walking.

* * *

 

_ I remember the day I walked in on a fight. _

_ I’d been letting myself in for a month and a half at that point, and Violet didn’t care. Sometimes there were other people there, sometimes Violet himself wasn’t there, but that day, there were two other people there, and Violet’s bloodlust was thick enough to choke on. _

_ I didn’t bother freezing, or pausing, or walking out. _

_ I walked in. _

_ I felt the tension dissipate as I dumped my stuff on the kitchen table and started taking notes: what I had learned, what new questions I had, what leads I’d followed through on, what new leads I’d found. Violet showed the two guests to the door and made me tea. _

_ “Not afraid of death at all, are you,” he laughed. _

_ “I won’t die. Not today.” _

_ “You know that?” _

_ “I won’t allow myself to die.” _

_ “You’ve insured yourself against fate?” _

_ “I’ve tied my willpower to my nen. There’s a weapon that exists to keep me from dying. If you had forced my hand, I would have used it. Even if I had died, I would have come back. I will not abandon my search.” _

_ I can feel the rise in Violet’s curiosity. Recently, I’ve become aware of the fact that while he hasn’t been stealing things from me, he’s been stealing my secrets – worming them out of me as best he can. I don’t think I care all that much, but it is interesting to know that he is a thief of all things, not just objects. _

_ “Would you add me to your list? Someone to hunt down and kill for revenge?” _

_ “No.” _

_ “Why not?” _

_ “I don’t like killing.” _

_ “Why not?" _

_ “It’s a waste. A waste of life, talent, resources, energy.” _

_ “Why bother with weapons at all, then?” _

_ “I won’t allow others to kill me, and I will defend those who cannot defend themselves.” _

_ “Very idealistic.” _

_ “Naïve?” _

_ “I’d have used the word, but I didn’t want to offend you.” _

_ “I don’t see what’s so offensive about it. I’d like to live in a world where no one gets killed. If I assume that’s a goal we can reach, I should work towards it. Deciding that it’s a childish dream instantly ensures that it will never happen.” _

_ “I guess you don’t like those who kill others, then?” _

_ I shrug. “Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. What are the circumstances?” _

_ “Profit.” _

_ I meet his violet eyes for the first time since I walked through the door. “Never a good enough reason.” _

_ He laughs, but I don’t think he finds it funny. _

_ The next day, I depart for Whale Island. _

_ I meet Gon. _

_ I learn things about Ging I never knew. Questions get answered faster than I can keep up with them. An idea begins to form in my mind, and before I know what hit me, I’ve got the answer. _

_ I make a detour, though. _

_ I return to Violet, one more time. _

_ I walk in on someone talking to him: “Chrollo, you need to tell –” _

_ Two sets of eyes swivel towards me: one brown, one violent. _

_ I should leave. This is not a conversation I was ever meant to hear. That was not a name I was ever meant to know. That is not a side of Violet I was ever meant to see. This is not a guest I was ever meant to meet. And I was never meant to see him like this – hair pushed back, long velvet cloak draped over him like he’s royalty, a tattoo uncovered on his forehead. _

_ If Violet thinks he can drive me out with one look, he can think again. _

_ I go directly to the bedroom. I can’t hear them from here. _

_ Violet comes in a few moments later. _

_ I look up at him. “You don’t have to kill me, you know.” _

_ “You walked straight into the lion’s den.” _

_ “That metaphor is old and overused, and you should relegate it to the trash bin.” _

_ “You can’t beat me in a fight.” _

_ “As far as you know.” _

_ “Would you kill me, if you did?” _

_ “If you’re threatening to kill me, yes.” _

_ “You’re not going to die today, are you.” _

_ “No.” _

_ “You’ve found him, haven’t you.” _

_ “Yes.” _

_ “You’re going to him, tomorrow.” _

_ “Yes.” _

_ “This is the last time I’ll ever see you.” _

_ “Yes.” _

_ The violence is gone. Violet looks at me like he never considered killing me. _

_ “Then I have a secret for you.” _

_ An exchange. Payment, almost. He’s spent months, a year, stealing secrets from me. Today, I stole his name. Today, he gives me something in return. _

_ He bends over and places his mouth next to my ear. _

_ “I never loved you.” _

_ I wrap my arm around his neck. “I know.” _

_ All the same, he’s very gentle that night, even when he shrugs off his coat and I see the spider tattoo on his arm, even when I see the number 1 on the spider’s body. _

_ And I stay the night. _

_ And I fall asleep, because he does, even though I know who he is, even though he knows I want to kill him. I fall asleep with my head on his shoulder, his spider tattoo behind my back. _

_ When I leave in the morning, his eyes are on me. I can feel them. _

_ I don’t say goodbye, and he pretends to sleep until I leave. _

_ I go to Ging, and I don’t look back. _

* * *

 

I turn around. I’ve gone far enough. I head back towards the driftwood.

* * *

 

_ I travel, often alone. I find Ging, often, but mostly, I’m alone. Eventually, I gather a team, and they follow me around. _

_ I wonder if I could stop Violet. Chrollo. If I could take him in a fight. _

_ I know I could find him. _

_ I don’t bother. _

_ I pretend I never met him. _

* * *

 

“I’m going home,” I inform my team when I arrive at the site.

They let out a spontaneous cheer.

“Well, you don’t have to be so sad about it.”

Spinner pats my shoulder. “Go take a nap, okay?”

“Got it.”

Ging pulls into the driveway just as I’m putting the car in park. He grins at me, and I practically jump on him.

“No running off with Chrollo today?” He asks.

I snort. “I never loved him. You – you, I love.”

Ging laughs and swings me up into his arms so he can carry me bridal-style into the house. “How does an afternoon spent in bed sound to you?”

“Perfect, I need a nap.”

The expression on his face is worth everything.


End file.
